Cop pulled me for over running a red light... on my BIKE

Pay the ticket. Bikers expect to be treated with respect on the roads, so you must obey the laws.

Pay the $20 BAM!

You ran the red light.

Your point? You ran a red light. Pay the ticket.

You want to "gamble" that the officer doesn't show up to save 20 bucks....would you be incurring court costs if you lost? I'm all for getting out of a ticket but the time spent and risk/reward doesn't seem worth it.

You have to ask yourself- is spending an irritating day arguing over a ticket worth risking having to pay the ticket AND waste your time? I would say no.

However, in the interest of having a better story to tell in the future, you should absolutely appeal... I would suggest preparing an entire presentation for the magistrate that you can quickly turn into a condescending screed about the waste of police resources if things don't go your way. Bring up the crime numbers in Dorchester, etc, and remind everyone that your taxes pay their salary. Ask them why they would fine YOU, an otherwise law-abiding, tax-paying citizen riding their bike to save the city from extra traffic and pollution, when there are murders to solve and children to save.

Godspeed.

Cyclists ride through red lights all the time. Makes a change that one of them is caught. Noone is above the law.

dean moriarty wrote:

However, in the interest of having a better story to tell in the future, you should absolutely appeal... I would suggest preparing an entire presentation for the magistrate that you can quickly turn into a condescending screed about the waste of police resources if things don't go your way. Bring up the crime numbers in Dorchester, etc, and remind everyone that your taxes pay their salary. Ask them why they would fine YOU, an otherwise law-abiding, tax-paying citizen riding their bike to save the city from extra traffic and pollution, when there are murders to solve and children to save.

Godspeed.

Like I said, I have no problem getting out of tickets but I do have a problem being an idiot while trying.

That tired argument of "you're giving me a ticket while there are real crimes being committed" is asinine. There are traffic cops that sole purpose is to patrol the streets, they aren't supposed to be cruising looking for murderers and robbers. Is it really a waste of police resources to pull over a cyclist who ran a red light....what resources would it waste if they were scraping him off the asphalt?

as seen on tv wrote:

Like I said, I have no problem getting out of tickets but I do have a problem being an idiot while trying.

That tired argument of "you're giving me a ticket while there are real crimes being committed" is asinine. There are traffic cops that sole purpose is to patrol the streets, they aren't supposed to be cruising looking for murderers and robbers. Is it really a waste of police resources to pull over a cyclist who ran a red light....what resources would it waste if they were scraping him off the asphalt?

As far as "scraping me off the pavement" - this was not an instance where I was barreling down the road at 25 mph, flying through red lights at intersections where cars might be coming from either direction. This was a pedestrian cross walk with no pedestrians (I slowed down as I approached to make sure I wouldn't hit anyone who might be crossing the street.)

I just think it was a dick move for the cop to make me pay $20 for doing something that clearly wasn't endangering myself or anyone else. The ticket I got also has an option for fining someone for failing to given an audible signal while passing someone on the sidewalk. Would this ever be enforced? I feel the red light violation (in this case) was just as arbitrary. I don't disagree that I went through a red light, but I think it's stupid to make me pay $20 for doing so.

i got a $112 for running a stop sign on a street with no cars at the intersection.

yes, i broke the law so i guess i deserved it. but, i would have alot more respect if the cops giving out the tickets rode bikes. they would understand that stopping every 400m on the city's 'dedicated bike route' is a pretty inefficent method of getting around.

we are living in a world that needs to rely less on being in a car. the laws need to favor those who don't use cars, not those who do.

Just because there is a way to appeal something, that doesn't mean that you should. The appeal process is there to help people who really may have been wronged; you weren't wronged. You broke the law. Traffic laws apply to people on bikes too. Don't be a punk. Pay the ticket and obey the traffic laws in the future.

Cambridge Commoner wrote:

I just think it was a dick move for the cop to make me pay $20 for doing something that clearly wasn't endangering myself or anyone else.

What if people driving cars followed your philosophy? Should cars be allowed to drive through red lights even if they aren't endangering themselves or anyone else?

We have traffic rules. They apply to bikes. You are not above the law. None of your complaints or arguments make any sense.

Pay up. You gambled and lost. Would you have gone through while driving a car? If no, then own up and consider yourself lucky that they have reduced fines for bikes, since I'm quite sure a car running a red gets more than a 20 dollar fine.

If you ride a bike even semi-routinely, I'm sure you get annoyed that people don't realize you have a right to be on a road- and with that comes the obligation to follow the rules, no matter how stupid you think they are. I think a 25 mph limit driving on some roads is too slow, so I go 35, and if I get caught I'll pay, and won't try some "I clearly wasn't hurting anyone, there was an open flat road, blah blah blah".

amazingly, laws apply to you wrote:

What if people driving cars followed your philosophy? Should cars be allowed to drive through red lights even if they aren't endangering themselves or anyone else?

We have traffic rules. They apply to bikes. You are not above the law. None of your complaints or arguments make any sense.

Not all traffic laws should apply to bikes.

wow. everyone here is that same person stopping at the light at the crossroads in the dessert. no one for hundreds of miles but that light says stop so you sit there waiting....and waiting...

me, I'm the guy who says that light is not God and I will use my free will and best judgement in deciding to stop or not.

I used to be a bike courier and avid city biker. I was quite aggressive as you kinda have to be if you ride in a big city but never a daredevil.

I ran lights all the time. I got two tickets on different occasions for running a red light. Both times the charge was dismissed. Here is what you do: You ask "Do I get points on my license for this?" Then ask: "What happens if I get too many points on my license, can I not ride my bike anymore?"

This has worked both times for me.

guy who drives a car - BAM - runs over a guy on a bike who just ran a red light.

if you are on the road - obey the law.

i think that a license should be required to ride a bike on the streets, and cyclists should be required to have insurance. along with no bikes on sidewalks - with the exception of private property, college campuses, etc.

i would have asked you to knock the bug off of my shoulder, then would have tazered you.

really though - you cannot be a vehicle one minute and when it is convenient become a pedestrian the next. your fine should have been higher.

I assume that you're in Cambridge, Massachusetts. If this occurred in Harvard Square, at that crosswalk where pedestrians routinely jaywalk, then your real crime was not taking out a couple of them when you ran the red light.

my dog only goes after freaks wrote:

i think that a license should be required to ride a bike on the streets, and cyclists should be required to have insurance.

Lol you can't be serious.

Some punk ass 22 year old like you ran a red light on his bike when I was an innocent 16 year old. He put a huge dent in my car door and then convinced me that bicyclists always have the right of way. I felt horrible that his wheel was busted so I forked over $20 so that he wouldn't sue me.

You broke the law - pay the fine.

Did anyone else open this thread thinking a cop pulled this guy over on charges of impersonating an emergency vehicle with a blinking red light on his bike? Huge disappointment here...